Chapter 19 : Contention (4) Part-2

Rose floated up effortlessly with a light movement.

As I flipped upside down, my eyes met Rose’s.

Thwack

Rose’s fist, dodging my blade’s trajectory, flew straight at me.

I barely managed to pull back to minimize the impact, but my head felt like it was spinning.

Boom!

Immediately after, I used a new battery to explode my strength.

It wasn’t the blade but an explosion that spread like buckshot.

“Ugh!?”

Rose staggered slightly as her body absorbed the impact, but she quickly regained her balance and rolled on the ground.

A laser flew toward the spot I had just been standing.

The impact destroyed part of the building.

“What the…?”

I heard a voice from outside—was someone waking up because of the fight.

The woman who had tried to hit me back at school appeared outside.

“Hey, ma’am, you should go back inside—”

Before I could finish, I dove into Rose’s arms.

I swung my blade.

Rose was slightly startled but easily dodged.

“Be careful.”

Iris warned

“Unlike the other soldiers, this one will rush at you even when alone.”

Click.

Another fuse was inserted into the rifle

I dodged Rose’s punch while thinking.

Why did she change the fuse?

She hadn’t fired enough to empty a full magazine.

If she had loaded it beforehand, she could have fire up to five shots easily.

Was the fuse a special type.

At first glance, I couldn’t tell.

But maybe it was just a little too long to fit in the gun’s magazine—

Wham!

A sharp impact hit my head

If I had just taken the hit, my head might have been obliterated.

I flew through the air.

Just before I hit the ground, I managed to land and stagger to a stop.

I could still hold on.

The new suit was pretty good.

“Today, I’ll definitely catch you, you vicious soldier.”

Iris said, walking in the air.

Click

The barrel of the gun turned toward me.

“Today, I’ll finally see the face behind that helmet.”

Kiiing.

For a brief moment, I heard the sound of charging, and a white light filled my vision.

I rolled to the side, but I couldn’t fully avoid the thick beam.

The only reason I managed to dodge even a little was because of something Iris had said earlier.

If I couldn’t dodge, I’d surely be captured.

And if I was caught, I would have to reveal my face.

Iris had intentionally avoided using any warp-point technology today.

She was solely focused on capturing me alive.

A magical girl was aiming directly at me.

Beeep beeep beeep!

100 percent.

My legs didn’t seem broken, but it still hurt like hell.

I could barely get back up, and it was probably thanks to the suit’s functions.

The sturdy suit had prevented my legs from breaking and kept me from falling apart.

And then, the circuits were working overtime, constantly charging energy.

Iris’s right hand moved toward the bolt of her rifle.

As expected, she fired one shot and then reloaded.

I sprinted forward.

Rose appeared in front of me.

She swung her fist, and I swung mine in return.

“Wha?”

As Rose spoke, our fists collided.

Of course, I didn’t just swing thoughtlessly.

I triggered the energy in my right hand again.

I couldn’t immobilize Rose or break her gauntlet, but it was enough to push her hand backward.

She was thrown back, and I swiftly ducked under her armpit and rushed toward Iris.

Iris reached into her skirt and pulled out a handgun.

I had anticipated that.

I raised my arm.

I couldn’t deploy the shield any further.

Bang bang bang!

I heard the sound of gunfire, and I felt something strike my arm.

Surprisingly, the pain wasn’t as intense as I expected.

The pain in my legs was the same.

The circuits were still running at 100 percent.

If I didn’t neutralize Iris, I couldn’t escape.

Was it desperation that kept the circuits running?

Iris seemed slightly surprised to see me still advancing despite being shot.

Her rifle was too close for her to aim accurately, and the handgun couldn’t fully stop me.

Then, I heard rapid gunfire.

I had pain in my body, but I didn’t stop.

Ah, with this, would I even make it to school tomorrow? I thought for a moment.

Clenching my fist, I charged at Iris—

Thwack.

But then, Rose’s shin slammed into my back.

I toppled forward, skidding along the ground, the grass torn up and the dirt exposed.

I heard a scream coming from inside the house.

I tried to get up.

100 percent.

But my arms couldn’t hold me up.

The circuits were still spinning.

A hopeless situation.

That was probably what kept the circuits running.

But no matter how much auxiliary power I had, it didn’t matter if my body couldn’t provide the strength.

I heard footsteps.

“You rely too much on your gadgets, that’s why you’re in this predicament.”

“You think that gauntlet is just a ‘gadget’? If I weren’t this anomaly, I wouldn’t be in this situation either.”

My heart was pounding wildly.

Pain surged through me.

Tears almost welled up in my eyes.

As I stretched out my arm to try again, their conversation continued.

“This is a bit pitiful.”

“Pitiful? She’s just a vicious corporate soldier.”

100 percent.

“We’ve finally come face to face. Don’t worry too much. You’re skilled, so once you tell us what we want to know, we might even help you out.”

“Oh, I’m serious. We’re short-handed too, you know.”

…Did they think my fate was in their hands?

They weren’t wrong.

Soon, my true identity would be exposed.

And certainly, Hayoon would—

100 percent.

Beeep beeep beeep beep…

———

Suddenly, the sound inside the helmet stopped, as if it had broken down.

100 percent.

0 percent.

It was over.

1 percent.

The circuits heated up.

I looked at my wrist, hearing a frantic spinning sound.

The compass needle was spinning wildly.

The counterclockwise needle seemed to have lost its function.

Sparks were flying.

It looked incredibly dangerous.

I stood up.

“What?”

Rose made a sound of surprise.

I raised my left hand, crackling with energy, and swung it toward Rose.

The blade was much longer than usual.

Long and almost fiery in appearance.

Rose must have realized that it was dangerous to take the hit, as she ducked—

And my knee was coming straight at her face.

She blocked the knee with both hands, but then leaped back, retreating.

She stared at her trembling hands.

Those hands were shaking, perhaps from the shock just now.

Rose looked at me, her face full of surprise.

Right.

She had always won.

Of course, she wouldn’t know.

No magical girl was living a bottom-tier life.

At the very least, they came from the middle class, or were even the granddaughters of corporate chair people.

She had never really been hit before.

A white light flared up from behind me.

Pain surged through my body.

I turned around.

There stood Iris, her face twisted in horror.

She absorbed the blast of light head-on.

Part of my suit shattered.

My skin wasn’t exposed yet, but it was still a dangerous state.

But I remained standing there.

The fact that my helmet hadn’t broken was a small blessing.

2 percent.

Crackle, crackle.

The circuits were reaching their limit.

It wouldn’t be long before they completely broke down, rendering everything useless.

A sticky, dark substance was slowly dripping from around the circuits.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but judging by how the grass was changing color, it couldn’t be good.

It looked like something sticky, almost like tar, that came from the deepest emotions of a person.

What would Hayoon think when she saw me like this?

It was terrifying.

3 percent.

But still.

Still—

I couldn’t bear to let these two leave without hitting them at least once.